Stem
by NanoRabid
Summary: So, I help out my friend, die and then get sent into an admittedly amazing, but terrifying world, where killing is normal and I'm expected to do so, too? Is this God's idea of a sick joke? OCx? M for swearing, gore and maybe something else :D (won't come into story until much much later).
1. Chapter 1

**Stem.**

**Chapter 1.**

It was the average Saturday afternoon at my apartment. The sun was just setting, the house was in a mess and my roommate, Bryan, was being an asshole again. Now that I think about it, he was always an asshole. I stood up and walked towards the kitchen for a glass of water, just as my phone rang. My ringtone was 'Joker' by Gakupo Kamui. My fingers quickly found the answer button and I held it up to my ear.

"Hel—"

"Lily! You will not believe this. So I was at the club like I am every Friday and then this total hottie came up to me and was like 'Hey there, sexy!' so I was like 'Helloooo...' and he was super-hot and had this amazing personality and so we just like made out for a few hours and we're together now and. And…"

"Madeline, what exactly do you want right now? I'm pretty sure I don't need to know this."

"Well… I was wondering if you could come over, pick me up and take me to his house. I'm broke, his house is on the other side of town and you have a car…Ta Da!"

"I can't, I'm busy with college work right no—"

"Please! I promise I'll get you a…Kyuubee, or whatever it is called, plushie!"

"I'll be there in ten." The truth was, I was a major Narutard. And proud.

I quickly put my hair in a ponytail and slipped on my jacket, putting my phone in my pocket and headphones on my head. My feet managed themselves into my converse as I tripped downstairs.

"Bryan! I'll be back! The fridge is locked so you can't eat the food supply again!"

"Screw you!" Isn't he polite?

With that answer, I grabbed my car keys and jogged to the car park nearby. I wasn't really boastful, but I took every chance to show off my car. A shiny green Lamborghini Gallardo, with leather seats, which took me years to save up for and buy. Sitting in the driver's seat, I plugged my keys into the ignition and took off. The drive wasn't really that long, about 15 minutes including traffic. I had soon reached a huge mansion on the edge of my small town. It had about 3 storeys and was painted a clean ivory with ebony accents. When my baby cousin first saw it, she thought it was a princess's castle, and that's saying something because my little cousin Katharine was a fussy bitch.

Madeline came running down the stairs in fuchsia kitty heels when I honked, with a small golden purse in her manicured hands. She was wearing an admittedly Barbie getup- pink dress with golden hoop earrings, long gold heart necklace and bright pink eye shadow. Blah.

"Finally, do you know how long I waited? I mean jeez, I get that there is traffic, but drive like an Italian! You have a fast race car! And you're a female! Those police bitches ain't got nothing on you!" I opened my mouth to interrupt her, and tell her that I wasn't as rich as her, but she kept on talking. "And what ARE you wearing! Lily, you'll meet my boyfriend, you need to make a good impression and maybe he'll hook you up with some of his jock friends! Are you even a girl with the way you dress?! What's with the cargos and hoodies! Purple and red should not be seen dead! C'mon—"

I tuned her out at that point. She was a…interesting person, though that's why she was my best friend. She may have been in the stereotypical popular category, and me in the nerd one, but she accepted me for who I was and stuck with me. So I did the same to her. Just as we neared the red light, which lead to the town centre where her boyfriend's house was (she told me earlier), Madeline squealed.

"Oh. My. God. Reece is the most adorable and romantic boyfriend ever! Look at the text I got just now! It says 'I feel like Indiana Jones, because you're the treasure I'm looking for'…Isn't that just the most romantic thing to say?!"

I turned away from her to not offend her by my expression, which looked like I was about o throw up. That was one of the cheesiest lines ever. I hate cheese.

The drive took 5 more minutes before we came to a stop. Madeline was squirming in her seat, looking ready to barf rainbows with her smiles. I was happy for her, she seemed like she really liked this guy, maybe loved. I hoped he knew how much she deserves.

"C'mon Lily, come and meet him!" she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car, dragging me towards a medium-sized detached house. She knocked on the door enthusiastically, hopping from one foot to another. "Oh, you'll love him! He's so sweet and caring!"

The wooden door opened to reveal a tan man in a red shirt and denim jeans. He had ruffled brown hair. Madeline pounced on him, squeezing him whilst he laughed. Something seemed wrong about him, the laugh sounded fake. Thanks to my phycology education, I noticed his eyes were slightly glazed over, like he had some alcohol beforehand. He also recoiled slightly when my blonde friend pecked his cheek. He unnerved me.

"Reecey-pooh! That's my best friend, Lily! She's super smart and kind! Lily! Meet Reecey! Isn't he the best?!"

"Sure…" I mumbled as he nodded at me with a fake smile, his eyes scanning me up and down. Because that's not suspicious at all. I had by now decided that I didn't like him. "Well, I have to go. Bryan is probably starving, so yeah…"

I wasn't actually that concerned about Bryan. He was an A-class asshole and could be starving right now for all I cared. And anyway, there was a Chinese takeaway a few blocks away, I'm sure he could manage.

My plans were to park a few blocks away and keep an eye on 'Reece'. I was only concerned for my friend, I didn't like her boyfriend. I waved with the back of my hand and started the car, pulling off the sidewalk. Luckily, there was a small hotel close by, so I parked in the staff area. It was empty and paying £60 fine wasn't that bad if it was for Madeline's safety. I grabbed the Taser in the small compartment under my seat and got out. It was about 7:00pm now, so the sun was nearly set, it was late autumn so time went by quicker.

Quickly, I jogged to the house and ducked down when I reached the point I was visible through the windows. I stuck to the high fence like glue and army crawled towards the largest window. I needed to locate what room they were in first. From my peripheral vision, I could see a back yard. Was that…were those gun pellets and smashed bottles?! I hurried. The window was now just above me, so I slowly raised my head and peered in. It was…normal. 'Am I overreacting?' That thought was gone when I heard a scream coming through the window nearby.

I looked around frantically, for something to break the window in. Bingo! A big rock was right behind a potted tulip. Grabbing it, I chucked it at the glass, wincing when it shattered.

I put my hands on the window sill, stretching and slowly scrambling up the wall with my feet. I had to be quick, no doubt Reece heard that. Slowly, I jumped down, my converse crunching on the glass below and ducked behind a leather couch. I saw him making his way into the living room, a frown on his face. There was sobbing in the room he came out of. He kneeled down picked up a glass fragment, examining it as if it would give the answer as to who broke in. But of course, I had to give away my position by crunching on an empty crisp packet lying around. He sharply turned to me and advanced, so I took a runner and sprinted to where Madeline was.

She was lying on the floor with her dress ripped open. Her makeup was smudged from crying, and she had several red pre-bruised patches on her skin. Her ankle was defiantly twisted the wrong way. Her eye snapped open as she noticed me.

"Lily! Help me! Please… Take me away! He's coming!" Her voice sounded so desperate it scared me. I looked around and noticed a back door. It was lightly swinging in the breeze. Grabbing her and putting her arm around my shoulder, I jogged as fast as I could outside. I was nearly there when I was tackled. Madeline yelped in pain as she fell to the floor, no one supporting her.

My eyes met the narrowed eyes of 'Reece'. His expression was furious and intimidating-I was never one for being brave. He was hissing curses under his breath, glaring at me. I suddenly remembered the Taser I had in my pocket and brought it out, smashing it into the side of his neck, where the biology teacher said a pressure point was supposedly. My weapon made a buzzing sound as it hit him. The brunette's expression contorted into pain as he released me, rolling away.

I clambered away, once again snatching my best friend off the floor and floored it. I knew we had about 2 minutes before he regained his screwed senses. I just needed to hide Madeline somewhere. My eyes scanned the deserted street before I noticed a pile of leaves under a large tree. Thank Jashin it was autumn. We hobbled over and I turned to face the blonde, whispering

"Madeline, I will hide you in these leaves. Don't come out until I say or wait for the police. Do not move and don't make a noise, got it?"

She nodded, her doe eyes wide with fright. I lowered her into the pile, occasionally sneaking glances behind me, and began covering her up. It was a messy job but in the end, the pile looked the same, only slightly bigger. If I strained, I could hear small sniffles and heavy breaths. But that was only because my hearing senses were acute.

I dived into someone's garden, hearing the roar of anger. I needed to get away from Madeline's hiding place to not draw suspicion. I inched towards the gate further away from me and stood up. I needed to keep him busy until the police came. Surely Madeline, or someone in this neighbourhood, heard the loud noises…right?

Reece stalked out of the house, his hair standing up from the volts of electricity I sent at him. His body would twitch every now and then. His dark eyes scanned the street until they landed on me. He charged. I jumped over the small bush in front of me and began to run away from my friend's hiding position. That was directly towards him. My plan was to go around him, and I was hoping that it would work.

That was when it happened. Just as I passed him, I saw a gun in his hand. A shotgun, to be exact. Now, I was REALLY hoping I could get out of this alive. Adrenaline filled my veins. My heartbeat sped up as I heard the sound of footsteps behind me, getting louder. I heard the click of a gun and made the mistake of looking back. The next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my forehead. My knees buckled and eyes widened. I saw Madeline peeking out of the leaves, meeting my eyes, giving a loud scream of shock. The chuckle of madness from Reece.

My upper body fell to the ground, hitting it with a loud bang that resounded around my head.

29 seconds for a person to die after a fatal wound. 29 seconds of aural awareness of everything around you, and contemplation of all I have done all the sins and good deeds. And then black.

Was this God's idea of a joke?

**A/N: Okay, so I decided to post this story because I can so yeah. I want to know if I should continue it because it doesn't seem that good to me. This is a Naruto fanfic, though any type of cannon characters will be introduced a lot later in the story. I'll post the next chapter if someone reviews/follows/favourites or I get 20 people just checking out the story. Or PMs me. I don't mind but I need to make sure someone actually likes it.**

**Word Count - 2,030**

**Welp, I'm out. **

**~NanoRabid/Mariiko Minamoto**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

I was floating around nowhere, everything was black. I had no clothes on-I was naked and absolutely freezing. There seemed to be wind, though at the same time, where did it come from? My movements were restricted, as if I were swimming, but there was no liquid. There was light above me, a small white dot. I couldn't reach it, but I wanted to escape from this place. I didn't want to spend eternity here, I figured I was dead. The chances of surviving a shot clean through the brain were impossible. My arms flailed slowly in butterfly stroke, legs kicking as I pushed up. I was hoping that the light was so small because of a matter of perspective, and it was big enough for me to fit through.

It was getting nearer, that meant I was right. My body was tired from all this pushing and kicking, and each time I moved, I was slightly paralysed me. It scared me, was I going to stop moving and be paralysed forever, before I reach it? I didn't want that.

It was so near. It engulfed all the space above me, like a sky. This place clearly didn't have laws to physics; if I looked down I could see only black. 'Well what do you expect? For all the physics to be right once you're dead and have gone somewhere impossible?' I reached out with a strained arm, my fingertips brushing the surface of the white, before I felt something lifting me. Slowly, one by one, each of my body parts were engulfed in the light. It felt like I was entering a gloopy and dense liquid now.

The first thing I noticed was pain. Unbearable, agonising pain. It didn't stick to one spot; no…it was all around me, suffocating me slowly and torturously. Whiplashing me from random directions and shooting me all over. I couldn't move either; I could only twitch and twist, and even that felt like I was swimming in a thick liquid. This body didn't feel like mine. My senses were blocked, my nose denied my access, my mouth only open to scream silently and my ears felt like they were submerged deep under. The thing that scared me most was my eyes. Ever since I could remember, I was always afraid of the dark: nyctophobia. The fact that I could feel my eyelids open, yet I saw nothing, it terrified me. Not even my own body was visible to me. Was this punishment for all the sins I committed in my full 18 years of life? Fuck knows, but who cares when so much pain is inflicted?

It was only a few hours (or so it seems, it could have been years for all I know) that the pain finally subsided. I still felt the nipping at my skin from the sting, though I was now in something warm and soft. It seemed like a blanket of some kind…but I couldn't tell. I was too busy freaking out about, hopefully temporary, blindness. There were muffled noises all around me, and I could breathe again. My eyes still didn't see, though it was a relief I wasn't entirely blocked off.

Now my body definitely didn't feel like mine. My stomach ached and it felt completely soft. My neck didn't support my head anymore and my skin seemed wet. It was disgusting. My limbs were immobile, bonded by some kind of a wrap (not that I could move them anyway-the paralysis kicked in again).

I felt the sensation of flying and had a suspicion something was carrying me. The muffled noises grew louder as I was carried closer. I'll admit-I was frozen with terror. Was this some kind of a ritual to enter heaven or hell? This wasn't science. It was too surreal. I would know-I was atheist ever since I was born, and I had taken science and focused on it. I was working for my degrees before I died.

My heart rate sped up twice the speed as I felt something squeezing my slightly, and then a cold touch to my face. It traced my nose, eyebrows and lips. My lips opened up and I did the only thing I could do in a situation like this, I cried. I wailed loudly, my voice sounding unfamiliar to myself. It was high-pitched and childish. I couldn't move, I could only see black, I was nyctophobic, and I probably wasn't even in my own body. My body was being rocked ever so slightly and the muffled voice was getting quieter. I was falling asleep—Correction, I was passing out from fear.

I woke up with a gasp. It was a dream it was all just a dream. Madeline was okay, I was okay and Bryan had probably eaten all the food. I lifted myself off of the bed. I couldn't. I was constrained, my body unable to move and there was something around me. I looked around, noticing everything slightly blurred. It wasn't a dream. There was a bright lamp above me and I was in a secluded area. There was some kind of a biome around me, I could see a white sealing through it. I twisted my eyes downwards, considering I could move my neck, the flicked them sideways. I had an assumption that I was wrapped in a cloth of some kind. On either side of me, about two meters away were more biomes, though all I could see inside was some cloth.

Was this some kind of a place for those who died? Was I the only one awake, or was everyone? Or were there more people awake?

C'mon, think! Observe the details around you. Were you training to be psychologist all that time for nothing?

That was when I put two and two together. Death, awakening, blanket, biome. How was I so stupid to not notice it before? I died and obviously went through some fucked up process of getting reborn, and was obviously premature…right? I couldn't handle this. My brain worked entirely on science, and this was fucking it up so bad. Rebirth did NOT exist. Gods did not exist. The Universe was made naturally out of matter, humans developed from microscopic organisms that appeared and grew out as the earth gained shape. This was the shit I believed in, not some pansy 'larger lifeform' bull. I was attempting to convince myself.

I heard footsteps nearing me and prayed that they weren't heading for me. I needed some time to sort the porridge that was my brain out before I dealt with confrontations from people I didn't know. I wasn't some nine-lived cat that was used to rebirth. I was a scientist studying human behaviour.

The footsteps were heading for me. They reached my biome and a large pair of hands reached for the top, gently taking off the barriers that stopped me from reaching into the world. A blurred face looked down at me, though I could tell this was a nurse from the nurse's mask. She had long brown hair but was dressed weirdly. I could only see Bollywood-style pants and a green vest. The rest was too blurred.

On the outside, I probably looked like I was looking at her curiously, but on the inside I was shitting bricks. Her hands scooped me up and I panicked even more. She said something muffled and seemed to have smiled with me cradled in her arms, though it didn't comfort me. I was scared, completely and utterly terrified. It was a human instinct to be scared when in an unknown place with unknown strangers, and I'm pretty sure that if I was right about my rebirth theory, any human would be scared in my situation, no matter how they portray themselves.

The brunette nurse, who I now had sinking suspicion wasn't even a nurse (Where was he nurse uniform and why is her hair not tied back, huh?) carried me out of the room gently, and into another bright one. It was the typical hospital layout-white walls, floors, and the occasional green. What was strange about was I had noticed some Japanese hints. Some doors were traditional and sliding, built with paper, and the walls to what seemed to be the room I was in had calming Sakura trees painted onto the wall, probably for panicking new-borns. So I was probably reborn in Japan, or somewhere in Asia, huh? I suppose that all makes t better, God, doesn't it? A science nerd reborn in a country she's never been before and the only ties she has to it are Naruto. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Before I knew it, I was set down a small clean table, and the blanket around me was taken away. I was left in my shivering, naked toddler body. I could feel my flabby face frown as my limbs just fell onto the soft surface, me having near to no control over them. She pried my mouth open, causing me to freak out. A million thoughts raced through my head as she did so, until I realised that she probably wanted to feed me. I hesitantly opened my mouth, a small gurgle coming out unintentionally. The brunette nurse giggled before lifting my head and neck slightly, and using a syringe to squirt some warm substance in my mouth. I uncertainly swallowed it, to avoid trouble. To my relief it tasted just like milk.

My stomach rumbled a bit and I realised that I hadn't eaten anything since the morning of the day I died. I died. It seems so unreal, that I died. I didn't want to die. I had everything to live for-a caring best friend, a good education, a loving family. I missed them so badly already, because I knew I couldn't come back. I didn't pay attention to the nurse as she fed me more, mindlessly swallowing it. I was thinking of all I left behind. Because of one simple mistake. I had turned around.

The nurse had just finished bathing me, and seemed to have sensed my depressed mood. It was probably really strange and unnatural for a new-born to look depressed, seeing as they had no knowledge of anything. She kneeled down in a colourful room and smiled at me, grabbing my small and chubby hand, and lightly stroking it with her thumb. I snatched her index finger as she was about to pull her hand away, and observed it as if it would give me some kind of clue. I could feel lots of calloused skin and a bit of hard muscle; she seemed to be skilled with her hands. **(A/N: *snicker*)**Maybe she could play guitar professionally, or something?

I saw another woman enter the room, she had…maroon hair? with a nurse mask on and a black outfit. My eyes still only showed blurs. I could hear her say something, though this time it wasn't as muffled.

"Kanojo no ryōshin wa, koko ni iru kanojo ga iku koto ga jikandesu." (Her parents are here, it's time for her to go.) she spoke. This was definitely Japanese.

"Ā... Shikashi, kanojo wa totemo kawaīdesu…" (Oh…But she's so cute…) the nurse holding me mumbled, seeming sad. The two exchanged more words of the foreign language, and suddenly I was handed to the nurse in black.

I panicked once again, staring fearfully at her. She seemed cold in my eyes, her body language told me. I yelped as she looked down at me with a glare, but continued walking. It was like she could sense me looking at her.

We entered a hallway, passed some room and she carried me into a hospital room. On the bed sat an exhausted looking woman. From my blurred eyes, I could see she had pale skin, blonde hair that reached her shoulders…but that was about it. She wore a bright green dress with brown leggings. My phycology teacher always said to observe appearance first so I did. I couldn't observe much though. Next to her stood a male: slightly tanned, navy blue spiked hair, and an outfit that had a mix of greens, blues, but mostly black.

They looked up as we entered, and the couple's (I deducted from the way they both starred at each other and the man had a hand on her shoulder) faces lit up. The woman stood up and picked me up, smiling widely. She laughed as she saw me smile back, her smile was so contagious, and the man stood next to her. They both looked so happy. Were these my… new parents?

**A/N: Welp... This is the second chapter. The Naruto characters only come in when my OC-name not revealed yet- become gennin so yup. I'll update once a week or so, because my exams are just starting. **

**Constructive critisism welcome here but if you don't like my story, don't read. **

**I'm off**

**~NanoRabid**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

I couldn't except that these people were my new parents. I mean, sure, they looked like great people and all, they smiled a lot, and they also looked kind. But these weren't my parents. They were strangers who created this new body, but not my mind or soul. My real parents created all of me, and raised me longer than them. I couldn't except that I had to call them my creators.

About an hour after my first meeting, they had taken me to what I assumed was their house. They kept on cooing at me, and it made me feel really stupid. I could only pick out a few words from the sentences they said, thanks to my extensive anime knowledge. The house wasn't bad-it seemed middle-class compared to some of the other houses I saw. While we were getting there, strangely by foot, I noticed the outside world for the first time in my new area. Despite it being blurred, it looked scarily familiar. I just couldn't shake off the feeling that something here was wrong.

The house was a traditional Japanese house with sliding paper doors, tatami mats and futatsu tables. It seemed to be in the middle of the woods, which was abnormal, and the woods seemed to have plenty of these houses with paths leading to each one. I could safely say I liked it, what with the beautiful nature view and all, but I didn't want to call it home. This was not home, this was a completely different part of the earth were I was expected to live. I still didn't want to believe any of this. It was too unreal.

My 'parents' had carried me to a plain ivory room with a hand-crafted wooden crib, a small chest for my belongings, and some pictures of sakura trees, mushrooms…? and flowers hung up . It was simple and traditional. They had placed me gently into the crib, which had a green comforter and blanket, murmured something, and walked out. So, this was my room, huh? Obviously, it wasn't like my room (which had band posers and a red and white theme), and it wasn't really my style, but it was okay.

I had unconsciously drifted off to sleep again, so when I woke; it was exactly like last time. I had thought this was all a big, fucked up dream, again. I couldn't face the fact I was reborn. Nope. It just wasn't scientifically possible. It wasn't and never would be. I felt scared to be here, so I did the only thing a toddler could really do at this stage: I cried. I screamed and sobbed, and woke up my 'parents'. They had come rushing into the room, seeing if I was okay and to try and calm me down. This was a cycle, it kept on repeating again and again each night: me waking up and realising I really was dead, and that I would never see anyone I used to know again.

Before I knew it, a week had gone past, a week where I had a panic attack a day, and my parents didn't get any sleep. I had begun to get used to it, and they had probably done that, too.

Over this time, I had managed to learn something completely new. My 'parents', who I had decided I should call 'Okaasan' and 'Otosan' (calling them 'mum' and 'dad' would be weird, considering it wasn't Japanese, plus those names were reserved for my real parents), kept on calling my by the same word. More specifically, a name: Etsuko. It was a cute name in my opinion, though I wouldn't respond to it all the time because my mind was set on my last name, Lily. I had later figured my mother was called Azami, and my dad, Daichi.

Okaasan was actually one of the kindest people I had met in my whole last life (considering I had only met 3 or 4 people here). She was always smiling a strange, warm smile and seemed to love when I attempted to say something. It was actually kind of annoying until I had stopped caring. Otosan was a lot more different than okaasan. I guess he was a bit of tsundere, which I would have found adorable if I was in my old body. I couldn't really do anything like this. Anyway, otosan was always quiet and seemed to have a habit of trying to show off infront of okaasan. He would always act like a strong and silent type, but when alone with me, he was soft, giggly and always smiling. It was sweet.

One thing that worried me, that wasn't the whole fact that I was reborn and anything to do with it, was my sight. It was blurred at all times so I couldn't see shit far away, and could hardly tell details apart when it was close. I would have used my science knowledge, and had on many occasions, though I didn't think science mattered much with my situation. My conclusion was that either scientists didn't figure out how well new-borns could see correctly, or I had bad eyesight. Naturally, new-borns could only see 8-15 inches ahead of them, but I couldn't even see that. And I think otosan figured that out.

I was about a month old, which was strange because it felt like years had gone by. Currently, okaasan was in the kitchen, warming some milk for me (I was so thankful when I found out that she didn't breastfeed), and otosan was sitting here with me. He was playing some weird game with me, which I had decided to play with him to make myself look like a normal baby (I didn't really want any suspicion-who knows what could happen?). It involved me attempting to catch one of his fingers which he kept on moving about. They were close to my face, but seeing as my movements were limited and my arms didn't help that much, I couldn't catch it. My sight was failing, badly, so I couldn't even catch the ones right next to my arms without missing. About 5 rounds, otosan began looking concerned.

It began from there, he had called okaasan and we had gone to the hospital for a check out.

The hospital was just as I remembered, green ivory and brown. It had a strange zigzag as a sign and some kanji, it was only visible from the front profile. Maybe it was like…some logo which represented the hospital in wherever I was?

It was a blur, no pun intended, from there on. I was taken away again, by the same maroon haired nurse dressed in black, with my parents following behind her. She had laid me down on a soft examination table (it had some blanket on) and began taking notes. I had figured that this was a check up on my health and all. She kept on lifting up my limbs, turning me over, putting pressure on certain parts of my body, and checking it up with a stethoscope.

I was slightly scared; I had been scared of hospitals and things like that ever since I could remember. I just didn't like all the probing, pricking, and prodding at my body as if I was a guinea pig. It just didn't sit well with me. Okaasan was holding my small hand with her soft ones, considering I looked like I was about to cry. This was one of the few advantages of being reborn; I could act like a kid and not get looked at like I was insane.

The cold nurse soon got her small finger out and pointed at my eyes, and it glowed green. That was…unexpected, so I shied away from it. What the fuck was this place…? A circus? Why were my parents acting like someone's body part glowing, was normal? WAS it normal here? It kind of reminded me of Naruto medical jutsu… The maroon-ette hovered her finger over my eye, and jotted something down again. I kept my eyes on the glow, I didn't trust it. I was snapped out of my trance as she spoke in an emotionless voice.

"Subete wa kanojo no shiryoku o nozoite, kekkōdesu. Kanojo wa sore ijō no nenrei no seichō ni awa sete megane o hitsuyō to shite imasu." (Everything is fine, except her eyesight. She is going to need glasses as she grows older.)

Whatever she just said, it didn't sit well with me. Okaasan looked worried, and Otosan had his eyebrows furrowed. Was it something critical? I was beginning to panic. For the 50th time this week, no doubt, and definitely not the last.

We had come back home sooner or later, I didn't know. I had taken a nap as we were leaving the hospital. I loved the fact that I could take afternoon naps so freely, considering that I couldn't even on weekends in my past life, courtesy of Bryan. Thanks, Bryan.

I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was missing something…something incredibly important. It was one of those feeling when you're looking for something, and it turns out it was right in your hand…though I hadn't found it yet. Okaasan and Otosan were still a bit concerned over my bad eyesight, and therefore had asked the magical nurse to fix it. She had sprayed some stinging liquid into my eyes. The downside of it was that it hurt like hell, causing me to cry all over again (I was never one for high pain tolerance), but at least I could see. Although, it was unnatural. I clearly remembered my old science teacher telling my class and me about how new-borns could only see around 10 inches away from their eyes, give or take. With these eye drops, I could see at least one metre. Was I a super-baby or something?

Okaasan had taken me out to go shopping with her, or at least that's what I thought it was. I still couldn't understand Japanese, or any type of Japanese writing (well, what did you expect from a '2' month old baby?). I was correct about the town…more of a village, actually. It was centred in the forest, with high ravines and cliffs. Not to mention the trees were HUGE. They were at least 3 times bigger than your average oak tree in a central park. What was weirder was the fact that every now and then, there was a monstrous mushroom, about the size of a bungalow house. Where the fuck was I?! Some fairy-tale la-la neverland?

The village's aura was slightly hostile, though not enough to scare me that bad. Still scared me, though. The only thing that kept me from hyperventilating was the small hint of friendliness in the atmosphere. Microscopic hint.

The layout was old-fashioned. On the ground, were in fact traditional Japanese commoner houses, though in the treetops, were tree houses. The ground had a small paved path, made entirely of pebbles, whilst the trees had long, winding wooden staircases. On each side of the path, were houses, huts, or quiet merchant's stalls. The village was truly one of a kind, with everything in a weird and ancient Japanese style-and it was wholly based on the nature and surrounding. There was a warm breeze going around the whole area, it was calming, what with swinging the flute-like wind chimes and all. There was high grass growing anywhere off of the path. The details were still blurred, though from my past knowledge, I could figure out mostly the obvious parts.

Okaasan was carrying me tightly and walked around with a confident smile on her face. She seemed to know the surroundings well. We had stopped outside a roughly made shelter, which was covered in moss and vines, and the building out of big rocks. There was an unrecognisable (to me) sign which swung lightly, making a creaking sound. This place-I didn't like it, it was too creepy. My blonde guardian walked through the door, pushing it hard (it obviously needed to be oiled) and entered.

"Hideki-san!?" she called out, scanning the creepy 'haunted house'. I had dubbed it that in my mind, because it simply was a haunted house.

As soon as those words left her mouth, a door (probably in the back) swung open. I couldn't see who it was, considering my neck was still too weak to lift my head up and my eyesight was just as shit as it was in my previous life (that much I had figured out). A rough chuckle came from where the door sounded, and a voice followed. I didn't catch what it had said, though I noticed it seemed elderly. Okaasan had replied something back, and I was suddenly being lifted. I looked around, firstly, noticing I was in a shop that distinctively smelled of metal. Was I in a weapon shop or something? What was this, the samurai era? I didn't need that. My brain had already been fried enough by the fact that I had been reborn, I didn't need to learn that I had been sent back in time as well…

The room, now that I had focused into it, had weapons around. I could recognise some: katanas, shuriken, kunai, kusarigamas, sais, maces and the lot, but others like the weird cutlass-looking daggers were not for my brain to comprehend. They looked strangely like Naruto style weapons…

Then I noticed the man in front of me. He had greying hair tied back into a ponytail that went off into a plait (with an obnoxious purple bow on the end), brown eyes and a wrinkled face. He was also smiling and cooing at me, but that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the black hitai-ate on his forehead. No fucking way. There was no fucking way. But it was true wasn't I? Because screw science and common sense. I was reborn into motherfucking Naruto, Kusagakure. Kami/Jashin/Pein/God/Satan really hates me, doesn't he?

**A/N: Okaay so I finally posted this :3. I've now officially decided I will post 1-2 chapters a week, every Sunday... **

**Hope you like it, amigos..**

**Au revoir**

**~NanoRabid XX**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

I could not believe this shit. I was in Kusa, the Village Hidden in the Grass. I mean, it did explain some things, like what were those rapid figures jumping around and in the tree tops, and why the hospital was so weird. It explained the Alice in Wonderland mushrooms and the traditional buildings. But this was not real. Back in my old life, I had always dreamed of entering the Naruto world, but only to meet the characters, really. I didn't want to leave my home, and yet it seemed someone had misheard it, like a failing game of Chinese Whispers.

What point in time was I in anyway? Was I past the Third Shinobi World War, or the Forth one? Or hell, was I even in the time of Madara, Hashirama and Tobirama? I wasn't worried about that that much, however. I was specifically worried of the term 'Shinobi'. Being a shinobi meant killing others, having wars and dying. It was a world ruled by violence and the like. Even being a mere citizen who had near to no part in the shinobi affairs, the chances of dying were the same as living malnourished on a desert island in my world, or past-life. I didn't want to die the second time. I didn't.

The elder had noticed me staring at his hitai-ate, and chuckled, once again. He seemed like a grandpa, in my eyes. His warm eyes trailed upwards to okaasan, who giggled in amusement.

"Kanojo wa kanojo no nenrei, azami nimokakawarazu, sumāto 1 no yō ni omoeru. Anata no ichizoku o keizoku shi, sudeni, mura o shien suru koto o tanoshimini shite i..." (She seems like a smart one, despite her age, Azami. Looking forward to continue your clan and support the village, already...) he grinned.

"Hai, hai… Kanojo wa utsukushī kunoichi ni sodatsudarou…" (Yes, yes…She'll grow up to be a beautiful kunoichi…) my mother laughed back. She held me out towards him.

'Hideki-san's' calloused hands grabbed me, naturally supporting my head. He brought me up close to his face, grinning a full toothed grin, eyes bent in a merry position.

'He looks like a pedophile…' was my only thought at his way-too-happy expression. Gently, I brought my chubby and uncoordinated palm to his signature Kusa identifier, and traced the bent zigzags, which were supposedly grass. It was like I had once thought it would: be a carving into solid steel or a metal of some kind. As I twisted my eyes towards my mother, who had shuffled to the old man's side, I sweatdropped. Yes, I sweatdropped, I was in an anime after all. It would be a rip off if I couldn't do anime actions, and since science was now out of the window, I was now only using my phycology and otaku knowledge of Naruto to survive. Back to the topic, okaasan looked scary. Her eyes were glittering enthusiastically and mouth in a scary smile as she stared me down. Like I was some kind of an ancient artefact, amazing and rare, never seen before.

That was a fairly interesting trip outside my house for the first time. I could promise anyone that later that day, the information had sunk in: I was in the Naruto world. And that unsurprisingly had ended up in yet again: more hysterics. I didn't doubt that okaasan and otosan were getting used to my panic attacks.

My routine was the same everyday: waking up and getting organised (well, okaasan getting me organised), eating, playing with brain-developing baby toys and practising saying something, and finally going to bed again. Of course, I had an exception of going shopping or for walks with okaasan and otosan every now and then. The habitual schedule was interrupted ay my 6 month mark in this new world.

My hearing had improved, but my vision had not. A few months after I received them, they stopped working so everything was a blur again, unless it was 6 inches or so away from my face. I had decided that as soon as I was old enough, I would get a dignified pair of glasses, I couldn't stand this short range sight. On brighter news, I was beginning to learn and understand the oral Japanese language, though I was clueless when it came to the theory section.

Today was just another evening at home. Otosan was reading some confusing scroll on a jutsu, or at least that's what the jist of his mutterings was about. It turned out that he was actually a shinobi, which I admit was cool, but I was slightly worried about him whenever he went away on what I understood was a mission. I was leaning on okaasan's stomach, watching my hands wave infront of my face. Okaasan was watching me, occasionally chuckling. It was fairly creepy but I didn't really mind. Until my stomach grumbled. Weeks after my discovery of the Naruto world, I figured that my love of food had not died down from my past life, and was here to haunt me.

Nobody seemed to have heard my stomach rumbling, mainly because otosan was now loudly complaining about his scroll. So I did the only thing I could to gain their attention (yes, I was in fact an attention whore), and seeing as my back muscles weren't strong enough to let me sit up, I twisted my head ever so slightly and murmured out what I could.

"Dai—Daifuku..!" That certainly got their attention. Otosan stared at me for several minutes, me staring back, before he began chuckling loudly with a large sweatdrop visible. Okaasan on the other hand, began squealing excitedly, glomping me from all sides. She then began to do a weird happy dance, with me still embraced. With the way my legs were swinging in the air, I was pretty sure they were about to fall off. "Daifuku-tan~"

I never did get my Daifuku**. ****(A/N: ****Daifukumochi (****大福餅****?****), or Daifuku (****大福****?****) (literally "great luck"), is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly ****_anko_****, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans.)**

I was 6 ½ months now, just before the average time for a baby to learn to crawl and sit up. My movements had gotten more mobile, so I could now wave my arms and feet around to some coordination. Thankfully, my neck now easily supported my neck. Lying down all the time and not being able to turn my head fully was gettig incredibly annoying. I was able to sit up at the beginning of the month, so that was a relief.

Currently, I was eating my dear Daifuku, sitting on the futatsu table. It was lowdown to the ground, so it was 'safer' for a baby to sit on. That was until I dropped my mochi. I stared at it for about five minutes,trying to develop my telekinsis (well, I could have the power, if I secretly was a mary-sue like in those fanfictions I used to read on the bus), but decided that there was probably some type of glitch in my power-generator. But I needed that mochi. I didn't care if it was on the floor (okaasan just finished cleaning it a few moments ago), I just wanted it. It was the last black rice flavoured one, my favourite flavour, and okaasan said something along the lines of this being thelast packet she bought me for the month. Apparently, I was a 'heavy consumer'..pah. Bull.

Otosan had now noticed me staring at my Daifuku on the floor, but didn't pick it up. He knew he was going to get an earful from okaasan later, for messing up her clean floor, but decided to watch me for his amusement instead.

Slowly, I shuffled, on my backside, towards the edge of the table, not taking my eyes off of the sweet. As I reacd the end, I twisted my body so that my feet were facing the drop and lowered myself. My knees buckled as soon my toes touched the ground, but I did fall in a crawling position. I turned once again and began transporting myself towards the Daifuku.

"Azami-chan? Etsuko-chan had begun crawling!" Otosan called in the background, not breaking my focus on the Daifuku. I barely noticed as okaasan had entered the room and bean hovering over me, giggling. My full attention was on the Daifukumochi lying a few steps in front of me.

Okaasan ended up buying a huge supply of black rice Daifuku for my accomplishment.

That was quite a while ago. I was around 8 months by now, and had begun walking at 7. The relief of actually being able to move without scratching out all the skin from your backside or putting manual labour into your hands and knees was tremendous. I was fairly fast in my movements and was able to have somewhat of a hand-eye coordination.

My sight hadn't really improved- I still had to pour those eye-drops every now and then so I could extend my sight but I was fine with that. I mean, I wasn't blind or anything, was I? I had learnt that since my father was a Kusa shinobi, my mum being retired (did I mention that before?), along with the rest of my family, whom I haven't met, my body was built well. It was like an ancestral thing, I had inherited features from relatives that were shinobi long ago.

My muscles were already trained: for example, the amount of trained like a normal Year 1 student in my past life, in England. Crawling was easy and effortless (not that I liked it), and walking was even easier. I could run without any leg pains and my stamina was a tenfold compared to what I used to have in my 18 year old body. I could jump extremely high, and felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside me. I recognised it to be chakra. My chakra. I still couldn't face that properly.

For the past few weeks, I had begun thinking of the future. What was going to happen to me? I knew this wasn't a dream-hell; it was way too long to be a dream. The option of a coma? I didn't believe a human could survive a fatal bullet injury in the head. I could become a shinobi, but that would mean killing, hurting and ending lives. Innocent or not, I couldn't do it. I was too much of a pacifist. Even medical ninja had to do their dirty work, and the idea of having someone's life in my hands was not what I wanted. I didn't, and don't, like responsibility. When people rely on me.

My hearing and listening abilities had improved, too. I could understand what okaasan and otosan were saying, even if I couldn't form the words with my undeveloped tongue yet. I understood that they, along with the old man-Hideki-san (okaasan visited him quite regularly), wanted to me to be like them-a shinobi. I didn't want to disappoint them either. I didn't like disappointment.

The shinobi world was so corrupted though. What made it worse was that I didn't know what arc I was in. If I was…the fourth shinobi world way, for example, or a bit after it. What was I to do, how would I stop Madara, or Tobito from winning? Did me being here change anything? What if Naruto wasn't born, in the end? Or something else was vastly changed?

I knew that for me to know what time period I was in, I needed to be able to speak. I could only form slight words. Plus, the library was out of question; I couldn't read kanji, katakana, or anything of the like yet. I could understand a few characters, though they were only simple, like sky, mother, father and shinobi, for example.

Okaasan was teaching me them a while back.

"Ok, Etsuko-chan, time to learn! Stupid Daichi-kun thinks it's too early for you, I'll show him!" okaasan exclaimed enthusiastically, fist bumping into the air.

That was a strange encounter.

Anyway, at one point, okaasan and I went shopping (more like she went and dragged me), again. She had pulled me to a clothing store, and began to use me as a doll. As I sat, waiting for okaasan to pick out the next batch of clothes for me, I overheard the clerk's conversation with a customer.

"I'm worried, Hitomi-san. My husband believes that there is tension rising between countries, especially Iwa and Konoha. He says that by the way everything is going, in 4 or 5 years' time, the next war will break out."

"…Isn't that a long time to prevent it? I mean, 5 year's time is nothing to worry about!"

"I know what you mean... But this has been going on for a while. And the chances that we will be in a crossfire are high. Shinobi time periods may be fast, but Iwa and Konoha are nearly finished rebuilding from the last attacks and are waiting for the next few generations to bloom before going all out…"

I paled. Kusa was in between Iwa and Konoha. 5 years wasn't enough. Children were sent to war, here in Naruto. I wouldn't have a choice. I was to be a shinobi.

**Haha, welp, I updated sorta early (one day-.-')...**

**Hope you enjoy~**

**The next chapter is full of timeskips...**

**-NanoRabid~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

If I hadn't died, I would have been 19 in my past life. This felt weird: I was already in this fucked up world for about a year. I honestly missed my old life, Madeline, my parents, internet, and even Bryan. Actually maybe not Bryan, he was still an asshole.

My birthday was an extravaganza, to say the least. Okaasan had invited lots of strange people I didn't know, as if it was a public showcase of me. I knew for a fact that none of them had seen me before, so it probably was a part-showcase, part birthday party. I didn't get why they showed me so late after I was reborn-maybe a tradition. I didn't contemplate it much.

One thing I noticed was that most guests were shinobi. They were all Kusagakure, or that's what I thought anyway. After getting a closer look (my eyesight was still as shitty as ever, much to my pleasure), I noticed that some shinobi were actually from Konoha. I didn't recognise any as being from cannon, so they were probably unnamed. They were all pretty friendly.

My favourite, by appearance, visitor was seemingly an Uchiha. I was really surprised to see one in Kusa, to be honest. I had never given much thought to meeting cannon characters, or even anyone from Konoha, before I went to change the plot. Yeah, my mind was still on that.

The Uchiha, I had learnt his name was 'Fuuya'. I had never heard of that name so I couldn't tell what it meant, but it was unique. I liked it. He had a Konoha hitai-ate wrapped tightly on his neck, side bangs and a long ponytail at the back of his head. He had the signature Uchiha black hair, eyes (though he seemed to wear…eyeliner?), pale skin and sex god looks. If I was back in my old body, I would be hyperventilating from such a radiant creature standing next to me.

"Hey, Etsuko-chan~ How are you?" he cooed at me, wagging his finger in front of my face. He was definitely not like normal Uchiha Clan members-he reminded me of Obito, though his was much warmer in personality. I just hoped he wouldn't end up like Obito.

It was annoying to be treated like a baby, even though I technically was a baby. That wasn't the point.

He smiled warmly at me, continuing to say random, unrelated phrases as if to amuse me, until I was passed on to the next person. I just kept a poker face, deadpanning him causing him to sweatdrop and his attempts to weaken. The day was basically gone like this-me being a trophy child with no emotion.

There was one thing that made me curious though. Back when I was only a few months old, I had been treated by a maroon haired medical ninja. The same kunoichi that was standing in the corner of the room, as if she had claimed it to be her 'emo corner'. At last, when I was placed on the ground, I waddled over to her. I could see her clearer than I used to now, and she was actually really young. I'd put her down as a 16 year old or so.

"Ko-Konichra…?" I tumbled out of my mouth. My tongue was so clumsy it was ridiculous. I couldn't even say a simple 'Konnichiwa' without fucking it up.

Her head snapped towards my green kimono-clad form, scanning my small frame. I looked at her with big doe eyes. I had understood that she was a family friend, but she acted like a polar opposite of Okaasan. Otosan's friend, perhaps? It would be hilarious if she turned out to be a tsundere, too. They amused me, for some odd reason.

"What do you want, baka-child?" my eyebrow twitched. What a response. But acting as the goody two-shoes kid I was, I dismissed her rudeness with a goofy smile.

"Would you like some daifuku~?" or at least that's what I attempted to say, but ultimately failed. It came out something like 'Ood you leek sum dau fuck u?'

Brilliant.

A chuckle escaped her lips as she smiled at me. That was the first time I saw her smile.

Okaasan had finally handed the writing and reading lessons to otosan, seeing as they didn't work on me. She just literally had no talent in teaching, and if she ever became a sensei, her students probably wouldn't even progress from their gennin skills. As offensive as I had said it and it had seemed, it was the truth.

Otosan obviously had some experience, as I had managed to remember how to write my name and the kanji for it after about an hour. I didn't understand Japanese people, how could they remember so many intricate lines on a single word?! My name by itself was a whole '悦子'. It made no sense.

Otosan had given me a small ink bottle and paintbrush, so it was even harder to write than memorise. I was never a talented one in the arts department, and this was, frankly, hell.

By age 2, I could read a simple children's book with slight pauses. I had guessed that the unnatural development was thanks to the evolution of a shinobi body. It seemed that my nerd genes had also been passed on from my past life. Once a nerd, always a nerd. I had refound my obsession with books.

So far, my second year was the most eventful. I was fairly developed: I could move, mildly talk, read and write with little skill. If I were to be left to survive in the wild, I reckoned I could, if given the food and water. But that was my estimation. Otosan was convinced in that, too, but okaasan wouldn't have it. She denied everything about me turning independent to have more time to baby me.

She didn't win that argument.

Weeks later, she went off of retirement and went back to being a fully-fledged kunoichi, though part time. Every time she went on a mission, she would leave me in otosan's care, and vice versa. At one point, though, things got interesting.

Both otosan and okaasan were assigned a mission in the Land of Waves, as they had the best teamwork. It was mandatory and they had been especially asked by the council of Kusa (the village didn't have a Kage), and couldn't say no. Consequently, they had left me in the care of the old man I had met when I found out about the shinobi world, Hideki-san.

"Ne, Etsuko-chan, have you ever thought of becoming a kunoichi? Like, with all the shuriken and stuff, fighting of bad guys?" the childish old man wondered. My body froze over-this was the one thing that I didn't want to talk about. I knew it was coming, but not so soon. I didn't want to become a killing machine, a tool, yet. Not ever, actually.

"H-hai, Hikeki-san…" I struggled out, looking at him with fake innocence. Drop the topic, please just drop the topic.

He didn't.

"Would you like to become one? I could be your sense—" he started, but was cut off by a smash. The window in the back room of his weapon shop had smashed. An uneasy feeling boiled around in my gut. Before I could even comprehend what ha d happened, Hideki had grabbed my body and pushed me out of the way, just in time for two shinobi to crash through the wall. They were mid-fight, and it was scary. On the losing side was tanned male with a string of explosive tags hooked onto a scroll on his back. He had dull brown hair and a shinobi outfit to match. The other, who was now working on a jutsu, had a simple ANBU uniform and blonde hair. He was using a katana.

That wasn't what sacred me the most though. The one with explosive tags, he had an Iwa hitai-ate, whilst the ANBU had a Konoha one.

I was scared. The ninja had brought the battle to an end, with the Iwa nin getting decapitated. It took all my effort not to throw up at the gory scene. The Iwa's head was detached and squirting blood everywhere, I could see the bronchus, windpipe and bones sticking out messily, not to mention the flesh that was hanging off in flabs. The body wasn't in a better condition-filled with stab wounds. I was sure I could see the heart from a big hole in the shinobi's chest.

The ANBU was standing above the bloody body, examining it. He then sealed it in a summoning scroll.

I had remembered this part-it was the part where Iwa had infiltrated Kusagakure in order to get close to Konoha. The Hidden Village of the Leaves had found out, decapitated them, and began the war. The should have been fights around borders of countries and shinobi villages breaking out already. Was that were otosan and okaasan had gone off to? I was scared.

Hideki-san was hugging me close to his body like a granddad, whispering soothing words to me. He was attempting to calm me down. For a good reason, too. I was in a state of shock, paralysation, trauma even. So what if I had watched Naruto and seen the gore on a screen? It wasn't real, I knew it wasn't. It didn't seem big, I didn't know the people who were killed and I didn't care for them, maybe just a small anime crush or attachment.

But this? This was real. The events and fights I had watched happened to innocent people and merciless shinobi. This wasn't a game or a show anymore. It was real. This could happen to otosan, okaasan and maybe someone else I would learn to care about. I wouldn't be able to protect them-I didn't want to be a shinobi.

It was a choice of my own life or my loved one, and the answer was obvious. On the other hand, I didn't kill. It was against my beliefs and I hated cruelty like this. I didn't have a choice. Thanks to the war, it was mandatory that every clan or shinobi child was to become a ninja. Kill or be killed.

The timeline was fucked up. I personally wanted to thank Masashi Kishimoto not giving any details or timeline on the pre-Naruto events. It helped me out a lot. I didn't know how long the war lasted, or when it began and ended. I had at least expected it to begin when I was around the age of five or so, I was too young for it to start now.

I was dreading for the next known event to happen. The attack on Kannabi bridge, if I was right. It would happen anytime soon, and it would be a certain uproar all over Kusa, a declaration of war. The war would then extend.

Different countries would get involved in this fucked up shit, and it would slowly turn into a world-scale war. I didn't know how quick that was going to come, and how long it would end. I was scared.

Okaasan had come home tired, along with a slightly injured otosan. I was concerned about it and began to fuss over them. Not only were they my new parents, but they were living evidence of the war. I loved them-they were my family and looked after me ever since I was born.

Later on, Hideki-san had told them of what had happened in the shop (which was now closed until rebuilt and restocked), and okaasan was instantly overprotective mama bear.

Otosan had broken his arm on his mission, and I was happier that that was the only injury. It scared me-even a broken arm. So I had decided.

"'Tousaan, 'kaasan…I want to become a ku-kun-kunoichi…"

I had made my choice and path in my new life. This was my decided future.

**We're actually finally getting somewhere in the story! Yay!**

**Hope you enjoyed~**

**-NanoRabid~**


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